


The World is not ours anymore

by Rea_Hakuryuu



Series: Horizon World AU [1]
Category: Clash of the Titans (2010), Hannibal (TV), The Big C (TV)
Genre: I'm in love with the game so I use it everytime I can, Is a short story, M/M, This a Horizon Zero Dawn AU, rarepairs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-11-05 21:37:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11022084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rea_Hakuryuu/pseuds/Rea_Hakuryuu
Summary: A strange encounter during a hunting trip.





	The World is not ours anymore

The Earth doesn't belong to the human race anymore, it wasn't to the human in the first place because everything was as the All-Mother's will.

Everything she gives, everything she could take away from us.

At least, that was the old story from the tribe.

Lee wasn't much interested in that in the first place, he wasn't interested in the surviving mode of the World that involves fighting for some high spiritual task.

He looks at the world, and when his days come he would welcome it without an apology or sadness.

Maybe this was the reason why he avoids everything connected with the Hunters and the ritual of the Nora tribe, maybe this was another reason why he tends to live as an outcast in Mother's cradle, in nature only with the silence and peace.

This day was no different from the others before.

The sun was rising again, red and bright on this peaceful land with a light wind that came from the earth itself. Lee was standing outside the house, watching the sun rises and paint the ground with his colours and while sitting with one foot down on the porch he was thinking about the day waiting for him.

He was running out of meat, herbs and most of all blaze for the fire. That means to go hunt some striders and then the animals. An all day out.

Perfect.

Lee often considering himself an outcast, despite him not being one - because people talk to him without problems -, but prefers to live outside the village and away from people.

He found peace in nature, among the more wildings machine and their dangerous threat than anything else.

That was Lee thought before clear his face with some water and find his bow, made by the finest tree in the sacred land and metal pieces from the machine he found destroyed. Lee also applied some lens, something he found on a watcher in the land.

Usually the hunters take them down from the eye, the vulnerable part, but in this case, they act differently and the eye and the precious lens was saved.

He looks at his bow, proud of his work and then he took care of the arrows and a lance - just in case the fight became more problematic.

With a basket on his shoulder, fixing his leather clothes he finally gets out of his house.

The Nora tribe was more on the "protecting" the sacred land from any threat, especially from the neighbour Carja, but that was no work for him.

Lee didn't want to spend the limited time they have on this earth fighting to end something that couldn't be ended; he was the water, not the rock.

His feet walk along a known path, looking around to the forest only to see if there are some herbs he was needed in his home.

The bow was well attached on his back, along with his spear and the quiver full of arrows was on his belt.

One of the many traditions in Nora was, of course, the archery and since he was a child he learns how to shoot arrows and create traps for the machine.

Trials and hardship were the main things to survive in such destroyed world, that was the life for those who want to serve the tribe as warrior and Lee know from childhood that he didn't want to do any of this.

Learning the survival tips was important, but living his own life was a totally different matter and between them he chooses himself.

Walking, gathering some herbs, he spots some hunters on the road to Mother's Watch. One of them was bleeding, the red drip of the blood was hitting the ground, tainted now, hearing only low murmuring on corrupting machines that seems to be spotted more often than in the past.

That was no news for him, though.

He always had the feeling that their peace, this illusion of it, was meant to end.

The Matriarchs always eluding the answer, only believe in the Mother.

Always the All-Mother that will help, provide for their safety and nothing more.

Pray and you will be safe.

"Yeah", he thought with a mocking smile curling his lips. "Praying was definitely helping those guys at the borders of the forbidden ruins. Those metal planks save them, not a prayer".

Shaking his head a little, avoiding them he continues his travelling to the striders area.

The trail was covered with grass and stone, in the land you could clearly see wild small animals running free while the wind brushes gently the high branches of the tree.

It was such a warm and peaceful day, one of the few and despite the snow on the high mountains in the sacred land, the weather wasn't always so nice.

Lee saw a couple of foxes and some rats running to a near hill, but he decides it would've been better to avoid the meat search for the meantime just to concentrate on the most difficult task: hunting machine.

He needs the blaze from at least two of them, so he would be ok for the next month at least.

He didn't take long for Lee to hear the mechanic sound and the sound of the machine nearby.

He heard the familiar "click-click" and the stomping of ground typical of a watcher, a machine who basically protect another machine from treats and they can scan all the area in search for possible enemies.

Lee crouches down near an area with a huge amount of tall grass. 

"There you are" a whisper in the wind, looking thoughtful at the brilliant machine in front of him.

Two Watchers and five Striders, at least. I good prey, indeed.

If he believes in the Mother, like all the Nora, probably he would've praised the Mother as well.

Lee was very careful when he let the bag roll down from his shoulder, placing carefully on the ground and prepare his bow.

The Striders were usually very peaceful, in case of a possible threat they react in two ways: running or attack. More often the running than an attack.

Striders are different from Watchers.

Watchers have a very small body, and their eye, their mysterious scan, were the only point that you can hit with a powerful attack.

They may not be bigger like Striders, the size of a huge wild boar, are more complicated but full of many materials. Blaze, in particular.

Lee closes his eyes, mind drifting away from the physical world and he reaches for the quiver on his belt. Nora's arrow was built with ridge-wood, a particularly strong and linear wood that is well balanced with the metal point for the arrow.

For Lee it was a moment of great pleasure to fix his bow, to tend for everything he does, but the real thrill was this: the hunt, not knowing what is going to happen.

He was alone, and Lee likes it better this way. Nock the first arrow on the bow, he took two fingers, the pointer and the middle, right under the feathers of the arrow.

He let his fingers running on them for a moment, eyes still closing while his body relaxed.

Everything breathes.

Everything.

Even those machine, that's what he learn alone, outside the walls of Nora's village. He was 

ready, he stretched the string of the bow let his eyes found the marker with his eyes and the point of the arrow.

Lee saw the Watcher coming his way, stomping the ground and ready to lift his head for his scanning exposing his eye.

Breath in, and suddenly the wind was cut from the left side and an arrow reaches for the spot under the neck destroying the wire that connected to the eye.

He heard the familiar mechanical sound, the buzz and the scrambling on the ground while the Striders, sensing the trouble, lifting their head from the ground and preparing for leaving while another arrow, and a second one, hit one of the pack and the others decide to flee and leave the area while the wounded one was hitting the ground with his legs. Strider's body was trembling, metal pieces start to fall on the ground.

Despite the wound, the machine was built from the ancestors to help them smooth their life but it was also a part of the reason why the world doesn't belong to the humanity anymore.

The mysterious archer seems to haven't noticed him yet while he destroy the Strider, leaving the others to their run for safety and this is the moment for a plan.

Lee didn't see him, clearly shooting from a far away place with a Carja designed bow. He saw them once, during the last Red Raids where the mad King of Sun decide to take people and sacrifice them to their God.

Their bow was powerful, strong and precise. Even the form was completely different, instead of a linear curve, it was resembling the line of a neck with more wire to balance the huge amount of power.

He laid next to the watcher's remains, playing dead and see what is going to happen.

After moments of silence, where only the wind and the sound of small animals Lee finally heard some footsteps.

He kept his eyes closes while the footsteps made them more and more close, he could smell the others persons and was a strong musky body odour.

The moment the mysterious archer's hand reach for him, to see if it was alive he just raises with a sudden movement.

"WAH!"

The man, caught by surprise, jerk few steps away while Lee laugh and gave him a rapid look.

This archer looks like a bear indeed, wearing a fine armour, definitely not leather from an animal, so he was indeed a Carja or whatever he was.

Defined cheekbones, so sharp he could cut himself, on a rough face with beard and hazel eyes and with long hair perfectly braided.

The man has a hand on his chest, breath heavily for the surprise attack while Lee giggles for the reaction of this strong bear.

"Are you fucking crazy, or you are a just an idiot by nature?" He demand, yelling a bit while he went for his bow and Lee raises his hand for a truce. Better not let this gorgeous man get angry at him on the first meeting.

"You were attacking my prey", referring to the Striders and made an apologetic face, the kind of one that made him look like an innocent son of the Mother, "and you were expecting for me to just leave it be without nothing?"

The man clicked his tongue before answering, loosening the grip on the bow and maybe decide that Lee wasn't much of a threat after all. "You could've attacked as well, or those weapons are just your toys?"

"And risking a strider's charge? And you said it was ME out of my mind!" Lee just snorts a little before shaking his head, astonished but this has man proposal. He was ready to die at any moment, but if he could prevent it without acting in a stupid way.

The man didn't answer, without saying a word he reaches for the destroyed strider in search for material that he could use for himself.

Lee couldn't believe it and just watch the man, clearly ignoring him, looking at his back with a frown on his face. "Who are you?"

No strangers were allowed in the sacred land, especially after the Red Raids, the matriarchs wouldn't allow it and a law was passed: Every stranger must be killed on spot, Carja especially.

The man remains silent, dismembering the strider at taking all the metal pieces from it.

"You know ... No strangers were allowed on the sacred land", finally the man stops doing his work and lifts himself up - though, Lee might say he appreciated the view till now - and finally look at him in the eyes. "It's a rule. I probably should just kill you, no one wouldn't raise a hand or say anything about it".

In fact, Lee thought, he would probably receive a medal or a prize for what he had done to protect the sacred land.

The man just says nothing.

He keeps looking at Lee leaving a completely uncomfortable feeling in his guts, it was like the man could see through the flesh and the blood deep inside the core of his heart and mind.

Then, like the wind, he punched him straight in the face.

That ... wasn't expected. Not at all.

Lee put his hand over the nose, the finger found the wet trail of the blood while the eyes just lock on the hazel one of this mysterious man.

This one, without warning, just sit beside him and watch him with a bit of contempt in his eyes.

"You spoke too much for someone who wasn't ready to kill in the first place”.

"You knew it ..." Lee answered the man, laughing a bit with shame for being so transparent.

"Your hand aren't trained for killing, only for the hunt this machines, so this is a lesson for you: don't speak, when you're not ready to act. This World will not forgive a moment of hesitation".

Lee just fell silent for a moment while the hazel in the eye of this mysterious man kept him 

locked in the place, blood dripping from the nose living a trail under his nostril while his mind focuses on ignoring the pain that the punch brings. If he wasn't so sure, Lee would've thought that this man had a soft hand while he punches, despite being a giant and clearly trained for the fight.

"You didn't answer my question on who the hell are you?" Lee keeps hitting that line, clearly curious to know the man's name.

The man seems surprised for a moment, frowning his eyebrows a little while pondering on what he would say.

"At least this" continue Lee, smile a little while searching in his pockets for something to clear his nose before the blood dry out forcing him to look out for the nearest river.

"You stole my hunt, punch in the face and the least you can do is telling me your-"

"Draco".

Lee stops his word mid-air, clearly, he was surprised to have an answer.

"I'm a traveller in search for answers. This is all you need to know, and you ... " he points his finger near his face draw a circle. "... you speak too much".   
"My name is Lee, not you".

He replies, not at all bothered by what Lee pointed out in this sentence. 

Draco.

So finally this mysterious traveller have a name.

After spending too many moments on the ground, Lee and Draco get up from it looking around in search for something or someone that might come through them. 

"We better move", Draco said, reaching for the striders dead remains ad take his arrows from it with, of course, all the material he already took. "The striders will be back soon, ready to attack. Since the Derangement, they're more dangerous than before"

Lee was surprised.

No one, outside the sacred land, seems to be aware of this changing in the behaviour of all the machine. It was like something was wrong with them, something deep and very dangerous.

Founding himself completely fascinating with this Draco, this mysterious traveller, he finally takes his decision for the day while he gathered his bow and his basket.

"I'll follow you, you still owe me something after all". A wink in Draco direction and Lee finally catch up with the man, who doesn't seem too bothered by him like before but clearly not pleased at all.

Lee didn't care for the moment. 

Draco was a fascinating man, and the desire to know more about him sparkled since he met those hazel eyes.

This was clearly a day blessed by All-Mother.

  


 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry, again, but this chapter is not BETAed.  
> I've tried, really, I've ask but ... well ... we had to leave things like this lol.  
> I hope, despite my errors, you enjoy this thing. There is a second part I've been working on, for this, but since I'm not sure you will like this I only leave one chapter ~
> 
> Comments, critics and kudos are always welcomed!


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